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Bug at work..
This bug was found in a crate at work. It was dead and there was this only one. This is the only picture I got of it, i hope that it helps. thanks
maria
Hi Maria,
Your photo is not the best quality, but it is significant since it is the first photo we have received this year of a Dobsonfly. This is a male. You can tell by his large mandibles. Just yesterday we received a photo of a Hellgrammite, the immature Dobsonfly.
What the heck?
This is a picture of a bug that we found while camping in west Georgia. We found 3 of these creepy fellows and not really sure what they are. It looks like they have six legs, and several other spikes pertruding from their body behind their legs (at first it looked as though they had 20 legs).
This is our first Hellgrammite photo of the year. The Hellgrammite is an immature Dobsonfly and a choice bait for fishermen.
hi this bug is about 2 or 3 inches long i have know clue what it is hopefully you can help. i seen it at our camp site in Oakham Mass. thank you
cheryl
Hi Cheryl,
This is a Fishfly, and we are guessing it wasn’t seen this week.
unknown critter
This beauty was flying around at night in the country near Raleigh Durham, N.C. My 6 year old is an insect fanatic and spent the morning with it. We refer to her as "the bug whisperer". Checked your site under moths, but found nothing similar. Alexandra would love to know what it is.
Christopher Capps
Medinah,Il
Hi Christopher and Alexandra,
This is a male Dobsonfly. We haven’t posted an image of a Dobsonfly since late August. The male, despite his formidable mandibles, is quite harmless. The female, whose mandibles are more functional, might nip if provoked, be she too is harmless. The larvae, known as Hellgrammites, are a favorite bait of fishermen. The butterfly on the t-shirt is a very nice touch. We are sure this image will horrify some visitors to our site.
Any idea what this is?? Never seen this before in Townsend Massachusetts. Thx,
Erik
Hi Erik,
This is a male Dobsonfly.
Corydalus texanus?
Thought you might like this picture. We took it in Fredericksburg, Texas around midnight.
Stefan
Hi Stefan,
While Corydalus is the genus for the Dobsonfly, we are not sure how to distinguish the species. The Eastern Dobsonfly is Corydalus cornutus. Your photo is magnificent.
bug picture
Dear Bugman,
thanks so much for this site! This very strange bug was on a neighboring tent at an art fair in Waterville, Maine, today and all day long NO ONE could identify it. Some said it was a Stone fly, but I searched and searched and none of them was like it. So then I searched on "flies with pincers" and found your site, and another picture of this guy was on top of your page! I am emailing this photo with the ruler next to it because it’s such a good one. THANKS!
Pam Ellis,
Rangeley, Maine
Hi Pam,
Thanks for sending us your great photo of a male Dobsonfly.
Scared the heck outa my kids
My kids found this creature on the back porch of my home and thought we were being invaded by aliens. I was able to get several good photos and thought you might like to see them. I found it on your site and believe it to be a female Dobsonfly. You have a wonderful website and I use it often. Thanks,
Matt O.
Hi Matt,
This awesome photo is probably not going to help many of our readers identify a female Dobsonfly, but we love the way the forced perspective makes her appear to be 20 feet long rather than 3 inches, which is still very big for an insect. She may nip with those scary looking mandibles, but she is not dangerous.
Active Dobsonfly Pupa
Hello again, Bugman!
I decided to keep my hellgramite. It is enjoying its indoor pupal chamber quite well. It has begun to pupate, but becomes very active when I lift the flat rock it’s under to check on it. Do you think it will hatch into adulthood before winter hits? Thank you!
Emily
Hi Emily,
Thanks for sending us documentation of your Hellgrammite’s metamorphosis. We aren’t really sure how long the pupa stage lasts.
Can you tell me…
What kind of insect this is? I took this photo today outside my apartment building. Thank you
Diane
Hi Diane,
This is a male Dobsonfly. We keep an image of a Dobsonfly on our homepage all summer, but the current photo is pretty far down and requires that our readership actually knows how to scroll down a page.
Hellgramite
Hello again, Bugman!
I found this beauty today. My first hellgramite, and about three inches long. It was in a pupal chamber in sandy soil, under an overturned card table near the Missouri River. It copped an attitude pretty fast when I tipped the table up (I was hoping for a snake!). Anyway, I noticed you didn’t have any hellgramite photos on the page. I’m sorry the lighting is so bad. I decided to put it in a bowl of water for one shot, to get some of the sand off. I think I’ll let him go tomorrow. Thank you,
Emily
Hi Emily,
Long, long ago when we set up our website, we created separate pages for the larval Hellgrammites and the adult Dobsonflies. You can find other Hellgrammite images on their own page.
male dobson fly
Hi there,
I believe this is a picture of a male dobson fly… we found him by the Allegheny River in Warren, PA. Thanks for the great website, very informative!!
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
What an absolutely gorgeous specimen of a male Dobsonfly you have photographed. He is a trophey specimen for sure. Eric Eaton provided this observation: “The male dobsonfly has emerged so recently that his wings are not yet dry and his pigment not fully expressed, as evidenced by his white jaws. Eric”
